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Title: The Big Snow by Berta Hader, Elmer Hader ISBN: 0-8124-2206-6 Publisher: Perfection Learning Prebound Pub. Date: February, 1979 Format: Unknown Binding List Price(USD): $13.15

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Average Customer Rating: 4.73 (11 reviews)

Rating: 4
Summary: Wonderful book to use in nature lesson
Comment: This story takes you through the process of woodland creatures as they prepare for a cold winter season. The animals notice the geese flying south and the leaves are beginning to fall from the trees which could only indicate one thing for them, winter is coming. The animals gather food, and build warm homes to cozy up in when the snow comes in.
This story is great for kindergarten children. The pictures are colorful and the text gives a great lesson in nature and how it works. Discussing what each animal would do to prepare for cold weather would be a fun activity to follow the reading of this book.

Rating: 5
Summary: Preparing for Winter
Comment: The story follows a linear plot. The animals begin to notice winter is coming and that certain things need to be done before winter arrives. The story tells the reader which animals can survive a cold winter and which ones hibernate. The story then peaks with "The Big Snow" itself and then travels back into the spring season. This is one of my personal favorites. I've read this book several times to my own children and my students. Coming from a state, Michigan, that has allexperiences all four seasons also, this story brings back memories of my own childhood and the scenes of wildlife in preparation for winter and the feeding of deers, birds, rabbits, etc. The story is very strong in the sequence of events from season to season and the signs of the changing season.
Math - Sequence of events, number of month in a year, seasons. Science - Region study of weather, animal hiberation techniques, winter survival, how snow is made and maybe a habitat study.Social Studies - Regions and their seasons, map skills, topography,
Art - Snow pictures, animals, forest homes,

Rating: 4
Summary: Let it snow let it snow let it snow
Comment: By and large (and I'm sorry people, but this really is the truth) picture books from the 1940s are either dull, offensive, or dull AND offensive. Not so "The Big Snow". A delicate little Caldecott winner, the tale told is not particularly new or deep. But it's a charmer, no question about it.

The story follows various woodland creatures as they prepare for the winter months ahead. Though a couple birds fly south and several mammals prepare their burrows, the majority of furry folk decide they won't have to worry about making it through the winter. When a huge snowfall occurs, however, it takes the kind ministrations of two snow-suited humans to feed the hungry animals.

As a story, it's fine. Nothing particularly good or bad about it. Gardeners reading this tale will cringe inwardly when they hear a mama rabbit (suspiciously named "Mrs. Cottontail") instructing her child to eat the cabbage and carrots in the garden. Similarly, the meadow mouse that lives in tunnels that "led to sweet plant roots and to the tulip bulbs in the garden" may seem cute but explain that to the men and women who sweat and strained to plant those bulbs in the first place.

It's the illustrations that really give this book a life of its own. Each little furry or winged animal is rendered realistically without sacrificing any adorableness. The baby rabbit munching on carrot tops comes particularly to mind. Black and white pen and ink drawings (or perhaps they're pencil...) contrast nicely with full page color spreads. This heightens the tension in the scenes. The first glance of the countryside bathed in heaps of snowfall is a color shoot. Likewise, the scrambling of the animals to eat the breadcrumbs spread by the nice human couple. On the other hand, scenes of the field mice dancing in the silvery light of the moon are charmingly rendered. They are undoubtedly the best thing in the book. And the humans here are well drawn. Sometimes artists that know their ways around animals have a very difficult time drawing people. Not so here. In fact the book flap informs us that Mr. and Mrs. Hader (the authors) purposefully made the humans themselves. In fact, there's a charming shot of the two of them, snow shovels in hand, on the copyright page.

If you live in a climate where an abundance of snow is a regular wintertime occurrence (paging Minnesota), kids will like seeing what the animals of the woods do. If you live in a temperate climate with balmy breezes and mild winters (paging Arizona) you may find the children who read this fascinated by the myriad of different ways snow can affects creatures from all walks of life. This is a beautiful story, lovingly rendered. Enjoy at your leisure.